[Ritchie Luna]

Okay I know if I buy something out of state that it will need to be shipped to an FFL.

Okay.

1. What are the usuall FFL fees?
2. How do I find an FFL dealer?
3. Are all FFL delaers also store owners? (so I have to go to a store)
4. If I have to go to a store......what does the whole thing entail?
4a. who does the background check? local ffl or the seller ffl?


basically I have some money.
I am looking to buy something.
I have no criminal record.
I have an expired CCW for South Carolina.
I currently reside in the ANTI gun state of Maryland. (US Army)
I am gonna go back to Arizona in 1 1/2 years (gonna buy my heart out in guns then)

Okay if I was interested in something.......how do I go about buying it and the FFL thingy.

Is there an FFL dealer here in Maryland that is also amember of this board?


Clue me in someone

 

[Rich Z]

1. What are the usuall FFL fees?

Varies considerably. Usually $15 to $25 per transfer.

2. How do I find an FFL dealer?

Try talking to a local gun dealer first. See if they have or can get the gun you want for you. Calling a gun dealer on the phone and asking them to transfer in a gun they have on the shelf for sale will not make you real popular with them.

BTW, when I lived in Maryland, Valley Gun Shop on Harford Road was about my favorite place to visit.

Also, think about attending some gun shows in the area. March 20-21 there will be a show at Pikesville Armory and the Timonium Fairgrounds. Plenty of dealers there selling stuff and you just may find what you are looking for there. If not, talk to a few about doing a transfer for you.

If all else fails, check out this website:
Find an FFL dealer

3. Are all FFL delaers also store owners? (so I have to go to a store)

Well, BATF regulations now basically require an FFL to have a store front, but I know of a few here in Florida who do not. BATF is trying to stamp out the table top gun dealers. Which is a damned shame. As long as they pass the FBI checks, and want to only sell guns at a percentage or via transfer fees, why the heck not?

4. If I have to go to a store......what does the whole thing entail?

Maryland has certainly gotten a lot stricter than when I lived there. One of the reasons I was glad I got out when I did. I believe that there is a list of guns you cannot have (or is it a list of only guns you CAN have?). Certainly a waiting period as well.

Talk to a dealer. They will know the ropes.

4a. who does the background check? local ffl or the seller ffl?

The background check is done by the FFL holder who you pick up the gun from.

The NICS check can be a problem. Some people have been denied simply because there was a screw up in the database. Heck, I have seen it happen several times to people trying to buy a gun at gun shows. And they are stunned to find out they cannot buy the gun until this is cleared up. In effect, you have to ask permission from the government in order to exercise a constitutional right. I am certain that the authors of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights did not have this in mind when they penned the second amendment. Matter of fact, I would bet that walking past their graves would be quite irritating by the noise of the vibration from them spinning inside their caskets.

Anyway, don't assume just because you have a clean record that you will pass the NICS check. You may want to consider buying a gun from a local dealer first just to see how well that goes.

Good luck!

 

[.45 COLT]

That NCIS check has just recently gotten a LOT better. I used to be on a 24 hour wait, really screwing up any gun show purchases, now it's 5 minutes.

DC

 

[Rich Z]

Yeah, but I still don't like having to ask the government permission first in order to exercise a constitutional right. I don't care how quick it is. Basically, you are guilty until proven innocent with a system like this.

And NICS has made buying long guns out of state much more difficult as well. It used to be that as long as you were qualified to buy a gun according to the laws of your home state, and there was nothing specifically in the state you were visiting to keep you from buying a gun there, this was OK. Now there is a conflict with the federal NICS system and the local offshoots being used by some states. So if your home state is using the local system and the state you are visiting and wanting to buy a long gun in is using their own local system or the federal NICS, you are SOL.

At least that is what I was told when I tried to buy a long gun up in North Carolina last year. I live in Florida, and was told that I could not buy the gun there. Definitely griped my butt, let me tell you.

 

[Guest]

the founding fathers would have shot

anyone saying that they couldn't use morphine, or had to have a "license" or passport to travel, too.